MACHIAVellIAnIsM, UnetHICAl BeHAVIoR, AnD Well-BeIng In ...

190 DAHLING, KUyUMCU, AND LIBRIzzI
Restubog, Scott, and zagenczyk (2011) found an increase in supervisor-directed deviance among
individuals who had experienced abusive supervision. Reductions in job performance and increases
in workplace strife can have serious consequences for the prosperous operation and financial success
of the organization. In summary, the available evidence suggests that the aggregate result of
Machiavellian unethical behavior unfolding in dyadic relationships and work groups may be the
compromised well-being and performance of the entire organization.
FUtURe ReseARCH DIReCtIons on MACHIAVellIAnIsM AnD
Well-BeIng
Although an impressive body of evidence has documented the detrimental effects of Machiavellian
unethical behaviors on well-being, additional research is needed to clarify several issues. Most
important, future research should expand beyond a focus on either Machiavellian individuals or
dyadic relationships to explore how Machiavellianism impacts the broader social network and
organizational performance criteria. Most research to date has drawn inferences about how Machiavellian
behavior might poison the broader organization, but evidence of these consequences
is limited.
Social network analysis (Borgatti and Foster, 2003) offers a particularly fruitful approach for
answering these questions. Social network analysis involves mapping the social relationships between
people in an identifiable organization to examine how tangible and social assets (knowledge,
trust, liking, etc.) are shared. In a social network, individual power is a consequence of having
many connections in a relatively sparse network full of structural holes. In such a context, powerful
people have access to resources and are able to broker relationships between other people who
would otherwise be unconnected. We expect that Machiavellians seek to find and occupy these
strategic positions that bridge structural holes to keep themselves well-informed and important in
the social network. This idea is broadly consistent with some findings that show that Machiavellianism
only contributes to performance as tenure increases, which suggests that Machiavellian
employees need time to strategically embed themselves in the social network of an organization
before they can capitalize on their motivations and become successful (Dahling, Whitaker,
and Levy, 2009). Notably, such an arrangement is detrimental to the overall health of the social
network, as denser networks with fewer structural holes allow for a freer exchange of resources
and information where they are needed to enhance organizational productivity. Future research
on social networks could compellingly demonstrate how Machiavellian employees threaten the
organization by perpetuating ineffective social arrangements that best serve themselves.
Another important direction for future research concerns the Machiavellianism exhibited by
top leaders who are in key positions to impact organizational success. The limited research on
Machiavellian leaders has presented mixed evidence about when Machiavellian leadership will
detract from organizational well-being. For example, Deluga (2001) found that Machiavellianism
(as inferred from historical profiles) was positively related to ratings of charisma and performance
among all past American presidents. Evidence from lab studies also suggests that Machiavellian
leaders can be highly adaptive in uncertain contexts and that they adopt a task-oriented style to
help clarify objectives. However, Machiavellian leaders also tend to be very inconsiderate of followers,
ineffective when resolving group conflicts, and easily frustrated when faced with tasks that
are unfavorable or difficult (Drory and G>). Despite these important preliminary findings, little
is known about Machiavellianism and its effects among real business leaders, which is a critical
shortcoming of the literature. Future research should focus on how leader Machiavellianism
impacts both internal and external organizational criteria, such as the development of an ethical